From my point of view, he was a R&B legend, cool music, great style, and lots of memories.

Some of the hit songs of Rick James:

    Super Freak
    Give It To Me Baby
   Ghetto Life
    Make Love To Me
    Mr. Policeman

    Fire And Desire (with Teena Marie)
    Call Me Up
   Below The Funk Pass (Pass The J)

From the San Jose Mercury News, these quotes:

I think he was really fantastic, he was a creator," singer Little Richard told MSNBC.

"He made a lot of people happy, he made a lot of friends and a lot of people got famous through his music," he said, referring to sampling by hip-hop artists such as MC Hammer, who used the "Super Freak" bass line in his hit "You Can't Touch This."